Kimberly Bose, of Alexandria, Virginia, whose son Joseph Bose was killed by gun violence in 2015, is greeted by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., during an event sponsored by Senate Democrats on protecting children from gun violence, at the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senators: Allow feds to keep guns from people deemed threat

The bill would let officials take guns away from people who are judged to pose an imminent danger.

WASHINGTON — Senators from both parties are proposing to let federal courts keep guns away from people who show warning signs of violence in response to the deadly school shooting in Florida.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democrat Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said Thursday their bill is a common-sense proposal to save lives. At a news conference, Graham said the government encourages people who see something suspicious to “say something” to authorities.

He asked, “Isn’t it incumbent to government to do something” to prevent gun violence?

The bill is modeled on state “red flag laws” that let officials take guns away from people who are judged to pose an imminent danger to themselves or others. A federal law would fill gaps in state laws, Graham said, noting that only a handful of states allow gun-violence restraining orders.

Police and the FBI received numerous warnings about the accused Florida shooter but did not move to take away his guns.

Graham and Blumenthal said they were motivated not just by the Feb. 14 shooting that killed 17 people in Parkland, Florida, but also by high-profile shootings in their home states — a 2015 massacre at a Charleston, South Carolina, church that killed nine people and a 2012 shooting that killed 20 school children and six adults in Newtown, Connecticut.

“I’m 62 years old. I’m tired of going home and telling people we just can’t do anything,” Graham said.

Blumenthal said he is frequently asked in Connecticut why Congress can’t stop dangerous people from having guns. “An aroused and outraged public” will be able to overcome opposition from the National Rifle Association and other gun-rights groups, he said.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signed a law this week prohibiting domestic abusers and people under restraining orders from owning firearms.

Florida lawmakers, meantime, have approved a bill would let law enforcement officers petition a court for a risk protection order for individuals that show signs of harming themselves or others. Republican Gov. Rick Scott has not said whether he’ll sign it.

Florida Sens. Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson have introduced a bipartisan bill to encourage states to adopt red-flag laws, with federal grants conditioned on meeting a series of requirements. Rubio is a Republican, and Nelson is a Democrat.